


it makes things hard to forget

by Julx3tte



Series: you can sail on thin ice long as i can too [5]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Sylvain visits Galatea on his was back from the front lines, blue lions - Freeform, technically during the timeskip, year is 1880
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:53:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24264643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Julx3tte/pseuds/Julx3tte
Summary: 1880 - as the Kingdom cauterizes its borders against the Empire, Sylvain visits Galatea for politics and to see a friend.feat. cooped up Ingrid, long walks down dark hallways, and change.technically a prequel to this series.
Relationships: Ingrid Brandl Galatea & Sylvain Jose Gautier, Ingrid Brandl Galatea/Sylvain Jose Gautier
Series: you can sail on thin ice long as i can too [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1747528
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18





	it makes things hard to forget

“The Scion of Gautier.”

Sylvain walked into castle Galatea’s main hall along with two servants bearing gifts. The formal introductions always took time, so Ingrid had a few moments to observe.

It had been less than a year and he was already so different. Ingrid could see it in the way he carried his shoulders: with the full weight of the future Margrave Gautier, no longer slumped and easygoing. Now Sylvain, wearing a full Gautier armored regale, was a true noble, privileges and curses alike.

To be honest, he was still a little too slim for the armor. His eyes, too, looked weary. She could see the worry etched in them, as if they were seeing things that weren’t real yet.

Yet.

Too soon the war came to Galatea.

Sylvain was here on a political mission. Nothing covert or secretive, but the front lines of the war, thankfully still at the border of Faerghus and the Empire, needed men. Sylvain’s job was to schmooze with enough nobles in the east to provide relief to the provinces most at risk.

Gaspard, and Rowe - where Ashe was from, was right at the center of the war front by virtue of bordering the Empire. Magdred just north of the Monastery, and Teutates, deep in the west mountains, were probably safe, but all of these provinces were poor.

The wealthiest parts of the Kingdom - Blaiddyd, Fhirdiad, and Fraldarius, were reluctant to send men and money. Even Gautier, constantly holding the northern border, didn’t until their fathers heard Sylvain and Felix’s testimonies. 

In contrast, Galatea was more like Gaspard - a poorer, minor realm with less people, close to the Alliance border.

After the formalities, Sylvain crossed the gap between them quickly. As old friends it wasn’t deemed inappropriate for them to hug, and Ingrid found herself enveloped by cold heavy armor. 

“Let me take you around the castle,” she offered, once the gifts were put away and the guests were offered a bed for the night. “Staying long?”

She led Sylvain to a spare guest room, where he unceremoniously dropped his bags and started shedding his armor. The chestplate came off gently, but he let his greaves drop to the floor and send a loud  _ clang _ down the hallway.

“A day or two, enough time for the negotiations and to let my horses rest a while. I’m still on the way back to Gautier. Felix wanted to come, but Rufus, Dimitri, and Rodrigue all went straight to Fhirdiad, and he didn’t have much of a choice. My father and I will join them next week.”

Sylvain’s tone was commanding. Had he always been like this? Technically she shouldn’t be privileged with this information, but he spoke as if she was part of the war effort too. As if she should be there with the rest of them.

Ingrid leaned on the doorframe, observing. Something else was different about him. Haunted, tired, weighted, sure. Commanding. But there was something else, and she tried to piece it together.

By the time Sylvain stripped down to just his underclothes to change, she figured it out.

For the last half decade, Sylvain had love marks splotched on his chest, a disgusting reminder of his evening activities.

Today, there were none. He really had meant what he wrote.

Sylvain noticed her focusing.

“Oh. Sorry.” he looked down at his partially clothed self and threw a night shirt on. “So, a tour?” Sylvian grinned and put an arm around her shoulder and walked with her down the hallway.

Castle Galatea was not… ornate or particularly decorated by any means. It was almost a brutal place, designed for function and ease rather than display. The hallway they walked down was part of the inner wall, host to guest rooms and, a floor below, housing for the few servants they employed.

Not that they were so poor yet - in a few years, without Ingrid securing another noble family’s money through marriage, they would be. Still, it was best to cut costs when possible. As a result, the seldom-used guest hallways were dusty, exacerbated by the torchlight that beamed their shadows down ahead of them.

“Around that corner to the left is the entrance to the dining hall. Past that on the other side is where my family stays, and around the last side of the square is mostly administrative. There isn’t… much to the castle to be honest.” 

Ingrid’s hand, the one not trapped between her body and Sylvain’s, gripped her skirt into a ball.

She knew better than to worry about what Sylvain thought of Galatea - she’d been to Gautier and Fraldarius plenty of times and knew how intricate the castles were. She’d memorized every hallway in Castle Fraldarius between playing as a child and letting Glenn take her around.

Still.

“I prefer this to be honest. Nothing’s wasted. I don’t know why it’s taken me this long to finally visit.” Sylvain finally let her go, reaching out to trace the brick walls while he walked. “By the way, how’re the suitors?”

“Miserable,” Ingrid pouted. “I’m glad none of them have come to visit. I don’t think I’d be able to stand it.”

The last time that happened - more than a decade ago - it was Rodrigue bringing his sons. Their marriage was planned from birth, but Glenn had wanted to propose on his own. She’d said yes to him in front of their families in the courtyard.

It was a dangerous memory to think about. Some days, just the thought of that afternoon shut her down. At the monastery, she’d steal time in the library to read a knight’s book, or go sparring. 

Tonight, she thought about the men needed to fight the war, and the money needed to pay them. How Sylvain and Felix could go play war while she learned to play wife, or at least let herself be courted like one. She thought about Mercedes and Annette, back at the capital, with careers as a merchant or mage to fall back on. 

She stared down the hallway, biting her tongue before anything vile came out.

Sylvain, perceptive as he’d ever been, could read the kind of silence between them.

“Hey… I read your last letter. The one from the other month, at least. Are you-”

“I’m fine,” she spat, cutting him off. Then, a moment later - “I- Sorry. I’m sorry.” She stared down at the floor instead of looking at him, like she was still a little girl and had said something unbecoming. Before she decided that knighthood was for her.

Sylvain hung back a moment, collecting his thoughts. Giving her a minute too, to look up and gauge his response.

He had on a soft smile. His red hair, illuminated by the torches on the wall, glowed. 

“You know I’d take you with me if I could,” he offered.

They walked around the rest of the castle together quietly, until they reached Ingrid’s room.

“Can I see?” he asked.

“It’s not much different than at the monastery.” Her bed was made in the center of the room. One one side was the door, a closet, and  _ Luin _ , laid against the corner. The otherside held a desk and parchment paper. “That’s where I write all my letters from.”

Sylvain tilted his head at  _ Luin _ . “Spar me tomorrow?”

“You’ll lose,” Ingrid replied.

“I look forward to it.”

**Author's Note:**

> what's really funny is i only beat the game in Silver Snow (which is 100% the worst route in the game) and I still haven't ACTUALLY finished blue lions... 
> 
> (though it's not so bad because I can actually properly appreciate the characters having played through it once and min-maxed my way to being able to buy everything I need with professor points).
> 
> please enjoy!


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